An acute outbreak of a severe gastric illness has hit four European countries with more than 130 cases discovered. The serious infection has caused some people to be hospitalised with diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said that the outbreak of Yersinia enterocolitica has been found in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Norway. The ECDC said 133 cases have so far been identified.

Officials believe that it has potentially come from cheese, and added that control measures were now in place to stop the outbreak. Yersinia bacteria are usually acquired by eating or drinking contaminated food, including undercooked meat, unpasteurised milk products or contaminated water. The bacteria can also spread via person-to-person or direct contact with infected animals.

Cases in the outbreak are aged between three and 85 years, and 76 (57%) are women. The ECDC said the largest number of infected people was in the Provence-Alpes-Côted’ Azur region (southeast region of France), with 57 cases, but cases have been identified in all regions of mainland France.

The investigation found that people who were infected had generally had a lot of a raw milk goat cheese, a specialty from southeast France. Belgium, Luxembourg and Norway each reported a case. It said: “Given the distribution of the implicated products in several EU/EEA countries, the risk of contracting yersinosis is high among consumers who have bought the implicated products or have been exposed in other settings before control measures have taken effect.”

It said that the reported cases may “represent a small fraction of all cases”. The ECDC said it is monitoring the event through its epidemic intelligence activities. Acute Yersiniosis manifests as diarrhoea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever.

The duration of diarrhoea can range from 12 to 22 days. Yersiniosis is difficult to distinguish from other causes of acute diarrhoea say medical experts.

Bloody diarrhoea is more frequently observed in children compared to adults. Sepsis has been described in infants and patients who are immunocompromised or in iron overload state with an overall 50 percent fatality rate.